The present invention relates to computer mice or track balls, and in particular to those including a roller.
In one type of computer mouse, a ball protrudes from the bottom of the mouse housing, and rolls across a supporting surface. The movement of the ball is typically detected by shafts which are in contact with the ball and turn an encoder wheel having a number of slots. Track balls will have a ball mounted on the top with the housing being stationary, but similarly operate with two encoder wheels at 90xc2x0 angles to detect X and Y movement. Optical mice and trackballs have also been developed.
Such mice and track balls typically also have buttons which can be depressed or clicked by a user, and which depress a switch (microswitch, pancake, optical, etc.). These provide additional inputs to the computer, in addition to the position of the mouse or trackball. Some mouse designs have added a roller or wheel which can be used for such functions as scrolling or zooming. The roller is operated by a user finger much like a dial on a radio.
One roller design is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,298,919 assigned to
Multipoint Technology Corporation. This has a user operable roller which has a shaft extending out from it, and an encoder wheel attached to the shaft. The encoder wheel is like the optical encoders used on the mice or trackball balls. Microsoft U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,344 shows a design similar to the Multipoint one in which a shaft from the roller is connected to a separate optical encoder wheel. One Microsoft product has a shaft supporting the roller and encoder wheel, with the shaft being itself mounted on forks extending up from the lower housing of the mouse through openings in a circuit board.
Another design is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,230 assigned to Apple Computer. This shows two finger rollers with a shaft which drives a belt which is connected to a pulley on a separate encoder. A similar pulley system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,455 assigned to Mouse Systems.
Yet another design is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,481 assigned to Mouse Systems. In this design, the roller has a shaft attached to a gear outside the roller, which drives an optical encoder wheel with the gear.
In addition to the rollers being turnable, a number of designs allow the roller itself to actuate a switch. In Microsoft U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,344, this is done with a roller which pivots inward under pressure from the finger, in addition to rolling about its axis. When pivoted inward, it will depress a microswitch to send an activation signal to the computer. Mouse Systems U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,455 shows a design in which the entire housing for the roller is depressed against supporting springs, and when depressed actuates an underlying microswitch. These designs typically use a lift spring to bias the roller upward returning it to the initial position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,303 to Apple Computer shows a graphic controller with three dials, with at least one of the dials shown with an encoder ring and detectors, with the detectors being shown on either side of the dial in one drawing. However, unlike some of the designs discussed above, the dials are on a fixed axis and cannot be depressed to actuate a microswitch and provide another input signal.
A roller design having slots in the roller wheel itself is shown in Primax Electronics"" U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,568. That patent also shows a support for the wheel which pivots with the wheel to depress a switch.
A roller design where the roller is attached to the top housing is shown in applicant""s copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/408,089, filed Sep. 29, 1999. However, unlike some of the designs discussed above the roller is fixed with respect to the button so that when the roller is depressed, the button depresses to cause a switch activation. In this design a wire spring has one end attached to the inside of the button, and the other end contacting an undulating surface on the inside of the roller. This provides a ratchet feel when a user rotates the roller, while the roller is supported by a simple pair of pegs on supports on the underside of the button. The pegs snap into cylindrical holes in the center of the roller around which the roller rotates.
Yet another design of the invention of the pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/408,089 shows that the button is made of a single piece of plastic with the body of the housing. The design provides a simple U-shaped loop which is simple to mold. The ability to depress the button is given by the hinge effect of the loop, with the amount and angle of button depression being controlled by a thinner portion of the loop. The loop can be sufficiently long to provide the appropriate hinge arm for the depression.
The present invention provides a roller for an input device. The roller extends through a slot of the top housing of the mouse and is attached on the end of a cantilevered arm. The cantilevered arm is attached to the inside surface of the top housing. The arm thus is free to flex when the roller is depressed. The arm also has a spring force to bias the roller upward, eliminating the need for a return spring present in a typical prior art device. As a result, when pressure is applied to the roller, the roller depresses through the slot independently from the buttons on the top housing and upon releasing the pressure the roller is biased upward by the spring force of the arm.
In one embodiment of the present invention a metal exterior housing functioning as a button is mounted over the top housing. When the metal housing is depressed, it presses down on an actuator pip extending through the top housing, causing the arm to depress a microswitch mounted on a circuit board beneath the arm.
In one embodiment of the present invention the roller is mounted on a cantilevered arm that has a single attachment point proximate the rear of the top housing. The arm also has a shaft molded as part of the arm, so that the roller rotates about the shaft.
For a further understanding of the nature and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.